Ticketmaster have denied claims that they want to it to be mandatory for audiences to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Claims came out this week that the company said audience members would be required to prove that they were vaccinated or had a negative COVID-19 result in order to attend events.
The story came from Billboard Magazine, who said the company wanted to use smartphones to verify fans were COVID free. This comes following news that drug company Pfizer had announced that it had developed a coronavirus vaccine which, in preliminary tests, was 90% effective.
Exclusive: How Ticketmaster plans to check your vaccine status for concerts https://t.co/A0wEC1uxbO
— billboard (@billboard) November 11, 2020
Ticketmaster have clarified in a statement to the BBC that they “are not forcing anyone to do anything” and the plan they had discussed with Billboard was just an idea they were exploring in order to bring live music back to it’s full capacity in the near future, after the music industry was basically destroyed by the ongoing global health crisis.
In a statement Ticketmaster have said; “Ticketmaster does not have the power to set policies around safety/entry requirements, which would include vaccines and/or testing protocols. That is up to the discretion of the event organiser. Ticketmaster continues to work with event organisers on all Covid safety measures and it will be up to each event organiser to set future requirements, based on their preferences and local health guidelines.”
According to the Billboard article Ticketmaster’s plan which would involve their own ticket app, third party health information firms and vaccine distribution providers. After purchasing a ticket, fans would need to verify they had been vaccinated or had tested negative for coronavirus 24 to 72 hours before a concert or sporting event. Test results would be delivered to a health pass company, such as CLEAR or IBM, at fans’ request, who would pass the information to Ticketmaster. If they are negative or vaccinated, Ticketmaster would issue digital tickets via their app, if positive, a fan would not be allowed access.
There was a mixed reaction to these claims. Some people welcomed the plan as it meant they would be allowed to get back into the world quicker and back to live music. Others felt that this was an invasion of privacy and that Ticketmaster shouldn’t have access to your medical records. It is important to note that in this plan, Ticketmaster would not have access to medical records and would only receive verifications of whether a fan could attend an event or not.
People took to Twitter to share their opinions, US political commentator, Liz Wheeler said; “This is so creepy to require people to show proof of COVID vaccine. You shouldn’t have to reveal private health info in order to participate in society.” On the other hand, another person said; “I saw a tweet yesterday that said “Ticketmaster are gonna require a negative covid test or vaccine proof for concerts” and I was like THAT IS FINE JUST BRING THEM BACK. I miss seeing my friends and losing it together over our faves.”
Am I the only person that doesn’t have an issue with Ticketmaster requesting a COVID test or a vaccine? They’re not telling anybody to do anything, it’s completely your choice. I for one would like to enjoy concerts again and feel safe rather than panic about being in a crowd.
— Gabby M (@LittleEin) November 12, 2020
And there it is folks…the surveillance state now owns you.https://t.co/VKcfpuRfPQ
— Pomp (@APompliano) November 11, 2020
